General Charles (Charlito)
Pasarell Jr.
Male
Puerto Rico
1944-02-12
San Juan, Puerto Rico


About

Charlie (Charles Manuel) Pasarell, Jr. is a former Puerto Rican tennis player, Tennis Administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells tournament.
He has also commented for the Tennis Channel and with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan Snyder formed the National Junior tennis League. He ten times ranked in the top ten of the U.S., ranking U.S. No. 1 in 1967 and World No. 11 in 1966.
Representing the United States as a player, he has been heavily engaged in the administration of the professional game from the inception of the ATP in 1972 and has been Vice President when he was still playing and until recently on the Board of Directors representing the Americas tournaments.

He is also known as Charlito ("Little Charlie") because his father had the same name and was also a gifted tennis player, being the champion of Puerto Rico six times in the 1950s.
Charlie is a descendent of one of the great Puerto Rican writers Manuel Zeno Gandia. His family's name has been synonymous with tennis in Puerto Rico since the 1930s. Apart from his father Charles Senior and mother Dora who were both island champions; Jose Luis Pasarell, Charlie's uncle was island champion in 1939, and his other uncle Nat was also highly ranked. His Auntie Maggie Pasarell de Kliess won the ladies doubles title in the 1950s. Charlie's brother Stan (Stanley Juan) who is now developing a world class golf course in Puerto Rico along with Charlie, was a very useful player, he won the U.S. Junior Doubles title with Alberto Carrero in 1966. Stan played in the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills six times between 1965 and 1971. In 1967 the Pasarell family won the USTA Family of the Year award. Charlie married Shireen Fareed in 1971 the daughter of the esteemed U.S. Davis Cup Doctor Omar Fareed, they have two children Farah and Charles (who represented Choate University at Tennis).

Pasarell was a prestigious junior and first appeared on the cover of World Tennis Magazine at the age of 11 in 1955. He won over half dozen Orange Bowl titles and five U.S. Junior titles including the U.S. Juniors in Singles and Doubles with Clark Graebner in 1961. He first appeared in the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills in 1960 and was first ranked nationally that year. In 1962 he played at the Caribe Hilton Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was arguably the biggest tournament in the whole of Central, Caribbean and South America.
Charlie was only just 18 and beat U.S. No. 7 Ron Holmberg, followed by Mexican No. 1 Mario Llamas 6-0, 6-0 in the quarter finals (avenging a similar 6-0, 6-0 defeat of his 14 year old brother Stanley earlier in the tournament). In the semi finals Charlie met Rod Laver, who would later win his first Grand Slam that year and he took the first set 6-0 before finally losing 6-4, 6-2. World Tennis reported that "The newspapers and magazines in Puerto Rico have put Khrushchev (Soviet leader behind the Cuban Missile Crisis) on the second page and Charlito on the first".

He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he won the NCAA men's singles and doubles with Ian Crookenden of New Zealand in 1966, one year after his friend and teammate Arthur Ashe. He reached #1 in the rankings of American men's players in 1967, also in 1967 he became the first man for over 30 years to win the U.S. National Indoors in successive years; this tournament was the biggest indoor tournament in the world and second only to the U.S. Championships in the U.S.A.

Pasarell competed in major tournaments from 1960 through 1979, with his most successful showings coming in doubles. He reached the finals in Men's Doubles at the U.S. Championships in 1965 with Frank Froehling and 1969 with Dennis Ralston, the French Open with Arthur Ashe in 1970, and the Australian Open in 1977 with Erik Van Dillen.
He was a quarter finalist at the U.S. National Championships in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1976. Pasarell was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1974.
In doubles Pasarell's most significant wins were the 1967 U.S. National Indoors with Arthur Ashe; the inaugural American Airlines Games in 1974 with Sherwood Stewart which evolved to the current tournament in Indian Wells and the Alan King Classic in 1976 with Arthur Ashe. The latter two at the time were two of the richest most prestigious tournaments in the world.

In 1969, Pasarell played Pancho Gonzales in what was, until 2010, the longest match in Wimbledon history in terms of the number of games played. The 41-year-old Gonzales finally defeated the 25-year-old 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9 after a battle that lasted 5 hours and 12 minutes.
Pasarell was also the first man to beat the reigning champion in the first round at Wimbledon, when in 1967 he beat Manuel Santana. In 1968, he played the first great match on centre court of open tennis when he narrowly lost to Ken Rosewall in the second round. Rex Bellamy, the celebrated tennis correspondent of The Times of London, started his article the next day by stating that "The first open Wimbledon produced its first great match", and further stated: "Among the men who climb to high places there is a saying that the mountains bring you three things - men, battle, and beauty. The men are true, the battle is the only kind worth fighting, and the beauty is life. Rosewall and Pasarell took us to the mountains yesterday - and the air was like wine." Finally, after covering other matches, the article ends, "Yet the abiding memory will be of Rosewall and Pasarell. If they show films in Valhalla, this is a match the gods will want to see." Pasarell achieved his best result at Wimbledon in 1976, when he lost in the quarter finals to former world No. 1 Ilie Năstase, after wins against Jun Kamiwazumi, Vijay Amritraj, Adriano Panatta (then ranked No. 6 in the world, having just won both the Italian and French Opens), and Phil Dent.

1977 was Pasarell's last full-time tour on the circuit and he started the year very well with a last 16 appearance in the Australian Open losing to eventual runner up Guillermo Vilas. A semi final at the South Australian Open including a win over Arthur Ashe (in their last match) and a Quarter Final at the American Airlines Games (a for runner of the Indian Wells event) with wins over Balazs Taroczy, Vijay Amritraj and Roscoe Tanner before losing narrowly to then world no.4 Brian Gottfried in 3 sets. He then had a bad run of form signalling the slow down of his career.
He finished ranked 77 on the ATP Computer and 25 in the USA. He had also started the year well in doubles with Erik Van dillen. In 1978 Pasarell's career continued to wind down he was not given a wild card to Wimbledon and lost in the 1st round of Qualifying to Jan Simbera 7-5, 6-4. In 1979 he qualified for both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and started to play veterans events.
He actually made his last attempt to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon in 1984 aged 40 when he was not invited to take part in the Over 35's singles event and lost in the first round to Jeff Turpin. He continued to play regularly on the seniors tour until the end of 1985 and then stopped playing completely in 1988.
He returned in 1992 to play regularly in the U.S. Open Seniors events until his last appearance in 2002, he also played in a veterans event in Puerto Rico in 1993.

Pasarell has been instrumental in the development of a premier professional tennis event, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. He has been a longtime director of the tournament until retiring from that position in 2012. Pasarell is also a commentator for The Tennis Channel television. He is a member of the Intercollegiate Men's Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame.

In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
Pasarell was voted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

In January 2013, Pasarell was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a Contributor.



Media


Archive statistics 1958 - 1984
20
1014
588


Tournament wins 1976 - San Jose (Open)
1974 - Caracas International Round Robin ()
1973 - Glenwood Manor Invitation (Open)
1972 - Clean Air Classic - second meeting (Open)
1968 - Eastern Grass Court Championships (Amateur)
1967 - US International Indoor Championships (Amateur)
1967 - Richmond Indoor Championships (WCT Circuit)
1967 - Pacific Coast Championship (Amateur)
1966 - US International Indoor Championships (Amateur)
1966 - Intercollegiate Championships (Amateur)
1966 - Philadelphia Indoors (Open)
1965 - Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship (Open)
1965 - Philadelphia Indoors (Open)
1965 - Ojai Championships (Open)
1964 - Thunderbird Invitation (Amateur)
1963 - Thunderbird Invitation (Amateur)
1962 - Western States Championships (Open)
1962 - West Hollywood (Open)
1961 - Riverside (Amateur)
1960 - Puerto Rico Island Championships (Amateur)


Tournaments Wimbledon Qualifying - 1984 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1981 Wimbledon - 1979 US Open - 1979 Cincinnati - 1979 Queens Club Tournament - 1979 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1979 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1979 US Open Qualifying - 1979 Indian Wells - 1979 Hall of Fame Championships - 1979 Lafayette Grand Prix - 1979 US Open - 1978 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1978 Kent Championships - 1978 Roland Garros Qualifying - 1978 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1978 Indian Wells - 1978 Baltimore International Indoors - 1978 Las Vegas - 1978 Arkansas International - 1978 Maui Classic - 1978 San Jose International - 1978 Miami Classic - 1978 Ocean City CBS Invitational - 1978 Sarasota Open - 1978 AMEX - Lincoln - 1978 Crow Canyon Classic - 1978 Australian Open - 1977 Wimbledon - 1977 South Australian Championships - 1977 US Open - 1977 Pacific Coast Championship - 1977 Southern California Championship - 1977 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1977 US International Indoor Championships - 1977 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1977 Indian Wells - 1977 Philadelphia Indoors - 1977 Washington Indoor - 1977 Las Vegas - 1977 Maui Classic - 1977 Stockholm Open - 1977 Cologne Indoor Open - 1977 Wembley Indoor - 1977 Santa Barbara International - 1977 Salt Lake City International - 1977 Ocean City CBS Invitational - 1977 Johannesburg Open - 1977 La Costa International - 1977 Virginia Beach International - 1977 Australian Open - 1976 Wimbledon - 1976 Roland Garros - 1976 US Open - 1976 Austrian International Championships - 1976 Pacific Coast Championship - 1976 Italian International Championships - 1976 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1976 US International Indoor Championships - 1976 River Oaks Tournament - 1976 US Pro Championships - 1976 Kent Championships - 1976 Nottingham - 1976 Indian Wells - 1976 Charlotte - 1976 Gstaad - 1976 Tucson - 1976 Philadelphia Indoors - 1976 WCT- Sao Paulo - 1976 Washington Indoor - 1976 Tempe - 1976 Denver - 1976 Las Vegas - 1976 Birmingham International Indoor - 1976 Dayton Classic - 1976 Maui Classic - 1976 WCT - Memphis - 1976 WCT - Indianapolis - 1976 Bakersfield - 1976 San Jose - 1976 Seattle Indoor - 1976 Newport Beach International - 1976 Wimbledon - 1975 US Open - 1975 New South Wales Championships - 1975 Pacific Coast Championship - 1975 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1975 US Pro Championships - 1975 South African Championships - 1975 Western Australia Championships - 1975 Altamira International Invitation - 1975 Washington Open - 1975 Philadelphia Indoors - 1975 WCT - St. Louis - 1975 Paris Indoor - 1975 WCT- Sao Paulo - 1975 Louisville Open - 1975 Aryamehr Cup - 1975 Denver - 1975 Las Vegas - 1975 WCT - La Costa - 1975 Chicago International Open - 1975 WCT - St. Petersburg - 1975 Tucson - ATP - 1975 WCT - Orlando - 1975 Maui Classic - 1975 Laguna Niguel - 1975 Louisville Pro - 1975 Stockholm Open - 1975 Dewar Cup - 1975 Wimbledon - 1974 Roland Garros - 1974 US Open - 1974 Pacific Coast Championship - 1974 Italian International Championships - 1974 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1974 US Pro Championships - 1974 Nottingham - 1974 Charlotte - 1974 Washington Open - 1974 Philadelphia Indoors - 1974 WCT - St. Louis - 1974 Atlanta Open - 1974 Paris Indoor - 1974 Dewar Cup Finals - 1974 Louisville Open - 1974 Columbus Open - 1974 Rothmans Tennis Spectacular - 1974 Las Vegas - 1974 WCT - La Costa - 1974 Caracas International Round Robin - 1974 WCT - St. Petersburg - 1974 WCT - Hempstead - 1974 Tucson - ATP - 1974 WCT - New Orleans - 1974 WCT - Orlando - 1974 Maui Classic - 1974 Rafael Osuna Cup - 1974 Stockholm Open - 1974 Roland Garros - 1973 US Open - 1973 Canadian International Championships - 1973 Pacific Coast Championship - 1973 Queens Club Tournament - 1973 Italian International Championships - 1973 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1973 US Pro Championships - 1973 Japan International Championships - 1973 Nottingham - 1973 Belgian International Championships - 1973 Philadelphia Open - 1973 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1973 Glenwood Manor Invitation - 1973 Fort Worth - 1973 Washington Open - 1973 WCT - St. Louis - 1973 Atlanta Open - 1973 Toronto Indoor - 1973 Hong Kong Open - 1973 Columbus Open - 1973 Aryamehr Cup - 1973 WCT - Miami - 1973 Las Vegas - 1973 Cliff Drysdale Invitation - 1973 WCT - La Costa - 1973 San Juan Round Robin - 1973 WCT - Munich - 1973 WCT - Gothenburg - 1973 Manila International - 1973 Australian Indoors - 1973 Johannesburg Open - 1973 US Open - 1972 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1972 River Oaks Tournament - 1972 US Pro Championships - 1972 Philadelphia Open - 1972 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1972 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1972 Charlotte - 1972 Washington Open - 1972 Colonial Pro Invitation - 1972 WCT - St. Louis - 1972 Toronto Indoor - 1972 Louisville Open - 1972 WCT-Quebec - 1972 WCT - Chicago - 1972 WCT - Vancouver - 1972 World Cup - 1972 WCT - Miami - 1972 WCT-Hilton Head - 1972 Denver - 1972 Las Vegas - 1972 Bretton Woods International - 1972 WCT-Cleveland - 1972 WCT Montreal - 1972 WCT Alamo - 1972 WCT Essen - 1972 Clean Air Classic - second meeting - 1972 WCT - Gothenburg - 1972 Australian Open - 1971 Wimbledon - 1971 Roland Garros - 1971 US Open - 1971 Canadian International Championships - 1971 Pacific Coast Championship - 1971 Queens Club Tournament - 1971 Italian International Championships - 1971 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1971 US Pro Championships - 1971 German International Championships - 1971 West of England Championships - 1971 Conde de Godo - 1971 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1971 Charlotte - 1971 Washington Open - 1971 Philadelphia Indoors - 1971 Colonial Pro Invitation - 1971 Bologna Indoor - 1971 Brussels Professional Spring Championships - 1971 Louisville Open - 1971 WCT-Quebec - 1971 WCT - Chicago - 1971 WCT - Vancouver - 1971 Rothmans Tennis Spectacular - 1971 Aventura Classic - 1971 United Bank Invitational Round Robin - 1971 WCT Dallas - 1971 Aryamehr Cup - 1971 WCT Cologne - 1971 Dakar - Second Meeting - 1971 Stockholm Open - 1971 Wimbledon - 1970 Monte Carlo - 1970 Roland Garros - 1970 US Open - 1970 Pacific Coast Championship - 1970 Sugar Bowl - 1970 US Clay Courts - 1970 Queens Club Tournament - 1970 Italian International Championships - 1970 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1970 US Pro Championships - 1970 Madrid - 1970 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1970 Thunderbird Invitation - 1970 Caribe Hilton International Championships - 1970 London Hard Courts - 1970 Bastad - 1970 Washington Open - 1970 Bacardi Round Robin - 1970 John Player Challenge Trophy - 1970 Columbus Open - 1970 Seattle Open Invitation - 1970 Denver International Open - 1970 Nottingham Round Robin - 1970 Wimbledon - 1969 Roland Garros - 1969 US Open - 1969 Victorian Championships - 1969 Pacific Coast Championship - 1969 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1969 Cincinnati - 1969 US Clay Courts - 1969 Queens Club Tournament - 1969 Italian International Championships - 1969 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1969 US International Indoor Championships - 1969 British Hard Court Championships - 1969 Championships of Berlin - 1969 West of England Championships - 1969 Belgian International Championships - 1969 British Covered Court Championships - 1969 Madrid - 1969 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1969 Philadelphia Open - 1969 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1969 New York Indoor - 1969 Caribe Hilton International Championships - 1969 Balboa Bay Club Invitation - 1969 Dewar Cup Fourth Leg - 1969 Garden Challenge Trophy Open - 1969 Coupe Albert Canet - 1969 Washington Open - 1969 US National Amateur Championships - 1969 Howard Hughes Open - 1969 Denver VASS Invitation - 1969 Stockholm Open - 1969 Wimbledon - 1968 US Open - 1968 Pacific Coast Championship - 1968 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1968 US Clay Courts - 1968 Western States Championships - 1968 Queens Club Tournament - 1968 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1968 US International Indoor Championships - 1968 Central California Championships - 1968 Queensland Championships - 1968 West of England Championships - 1968 British Covered Court Championships - 1968 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1968 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1968 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1968 Philadelphia Open - 1968 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1968 Desert Inn Invitation - 1968 US National Amateur Championships - 1968 Wimbledon - 1967 US Open - 1967 Nassau Bowl - 1967 Pacific Coast Championship - 1967 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1967 River Plate Championships - 1967 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1967 US International Indoor Championships - 1967 Atlanta Invitation Tournament - 1967 Philadelphia Open - 1967 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1967 Mexico International - 1967 Caribe Hilton International Championships - 1967 San Luis Potosi Open - 1967 Tulsa Invitation - 1967 Lys International Grass Championships - 1967 Wimbledon - 1966 South Australian Championships - 1966 Victorian Championships - 1966 Pacific Coast Championship - 1966 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1966 Southern California Championship - 1966 US Clay Courts - 1966 Western States Championships - 1966 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1966 US International Indoor Championships - 1966 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1966 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1966 Thunderbird Invitation - 1966 Intercollegiate Championships - 1966 South American Championship - 1966 Dallas Invitation - 1966 Philadelphia Indoors - 1966 Detroit Invitation - 1966 Western Collegiate Indoors - 1966 Wimbledon - 1965 US Open - 1965 California State Championship - 1965 Nassau Bowl - 1965 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1965 Southern California Championship - 1965 US Clay Courts - 1965 Western States Championships - 1965 Queens Club Tournament - 1965 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1965 US International Indoor Championships - 1965 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1965 West of England Championships - 1965 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1965 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1965 Ojai Championships - 1965 Masters Invitation - 1965 Philadelphia Indoors - 1965 Tucson Racquet Club Invitation - 1965 Desert Invitation - 1965 Wimbledon - 1964 US Open - 1964 Newport Casino - 1964 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1964 Southern California Championship - 1964 Sugar Bowl - 1964 US Clay Courts - 1964 Western States Championships - 1964 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1964 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1964 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1964 Perth Amboy Invitation - 1964 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1964 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1964 Thunderbird Invitation - 1964 US Hard Courts - 1964 Baltimore Invitation - 1964 Palm Desert Invitation - 1964 Tucson Racquet Club Invitation - 1964 Wimbledon - 1963 US Open - 1963 Nassau Bowl - 1963 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1963 Southern California Championship - 1963 Sugar Bowl - 1963 US Clay Courts - 1963 Irish Championships - 1963 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1963 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1963 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1963 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1963 Thunderbird Invitation - 1963 US Hard Courts - 1963 Charles Farrell Invitation - 1963 Tucson Racquet Club Invitation - 1963 US Open - 1962 Newport Casino - 1962 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1962 Southern California Championship - 1962 Cincinnati - 1962 US Clay Courts - 1962 Western States Championships - 1962 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1962 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1962 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1962 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1962 Thunderbird Invitation - 1962 Ojai Championships - 1962 West Hollywood - 1962 US Hard Courts - 1962 Charles Farrell Invitation - 1962 Pasadena Metropolitan - 1962 Balboa Bay Club Autumn Invitation - 1962 US Open - 1961 Newport Casino - 1961 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1961 Southern Championships - 1961 Cincinnati - 1961 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1961 Dixie Championships - 1961 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1961 Blue and Gray Invitation - 1961 US Hard Courts - 1961 Balboa Bay Club Invitation - 1961 Charles Farrell Invitation - 1961 Riverside - 1961 Dixieland - 1961 US Open - 1960 Newport Casino - 1960 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1960 Tennessee Valley Invitation - 1960 Cincinnati - 1960 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1960 Southampton - Consolation - 1960 Puerto Rico Island Championships - 1960 Caribe Hilton Championships - 1958

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